Self-heading wild fowl decoys

ABSTRACT

A goose or duck decoy comprising a body portion substantially in the shape of a goose or duck or other wild fowl, the body portion having a flat surface mounted on the body near the posterior of the body along the top center line of the body perpendicular to the top surface of the body, a head portion removably attached to this body portion and a mounting stake, the mounting stake comprising a tubular rod having a pointed end and a flat end and having a first flat, bearing surface attached to the rod, between the flat end and pointed end, the flat end of the rod fitting within a sleeve having a low coefficient of friction within the body of the decoy. The sleeve having a second flat bearing surface attached to the end of the sleeve at the outside of the body such that the two flat bearing surfaces contact each other. These decoys are self-heading i.e., they automatically face into the wind.

' United States Patent [191 Barrett 451 Apr. 2, 1974 SELF-READING WILDFOWL DECOYS [76] Inventor: Gilbert R. Barrett, 4492 Redman Ave., Apt. N,Omaha, Nebr. 68111 22 Filed: May3l, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 258,417

Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant ExaminerJ. Q Lever Ai tbritey, Zge r tt, orrira shrrfian" & Shalloway [57] ABSTRACT A goose orduck decoy comprising a body portion substantially in the shape of agoose or duck or other wild fowl, the body portion having a flat surfacemounted on the body near the posterior of the body along the top centerline of the body perpendicular to the top surface of the body, a headportion removably attached to this body portion and a mounting stake,the mounting stake comprising a tubular rod having a pointed end and aflat end and having a first flat, hearing surface attached to the rod,between the flat end and pointed end, the flat end of the rod fittingwithin a sleeve having a low coefficient of friction within the body ofthe decoy. The sleeve having a second flat bearing surface attached tothe end of the sleeve at the outside of the body such that the two flatbearing surfaces contact each other. These decoys are selfheading i.e.,they automatically face into the wind.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures IPMENTEUAPR 2:914 A I I sum 1 or 2 .8@0,45

SELF-READING WILD-FOWL DECOYS FIELD OF INVENTION This invention. relatesto huntings decoys. More particularly, this invention relates toself-aligning decoys for use in hunting game fowl, such as geese, ducks,etc.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Utilization of decoys. in order to allure gamefowl within the range. of hunters shotguns is a well. known expedient.These allures or decoys must be sufficiently realistic so as to foolthese ducks and geese flying overhead. Accordingly, when setting outdecoys, care must be taken so as to face the decoys into the wind. Thisis because it is generally the habit of such game fowl to face into thewind. Accordingly, if during a days hunting the wind changessignificantly, the hunter must get out of his hunting blind and adjustor readjust each of the decoys so as to face the same into the wind.Obviously, this becomes a tiring and time consuming chore and can removesome of the enjoyment from duck and geese hunting.

As a result of this problem, there have been many attempts to develop aduck and geese decoy which will be self-adjusting or which can be easilyand readily adjusted from the blind without moving out into the sight ofthe fowl flying overhead. Some of these concepts, such as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 2,787,074, utilize a series of pulls or strings so as tomanipulate each decoy. Obviously, such operation becomes cumbersome andthe pulls or strings may easily become ensnarled in the brush andundergrowth near the duck blind. Furthermore, these are a number ofother duck decoys, such as disclosed in U. S. Pat. Nos. 2,719,376,3,350,808 and 2,885,813 which disclose various decoys having pivotedheads or decoys which are staked into the ground so that the decoys willnot be disturbed by high winds or rough waters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION It is within the above environment thatthe novel decoy of the present invention was developed. Briefly, suchdecoy comprises a body having an adjustable neck portion, this bodyhaving a flat surface extending perpendicular to the top surface of thedecoy body near the tail or posterior section along the center line ofthe body, a sleeve mounted within the body formed from a material havinga low coefficient of friction, this sleeve including a flat, circular,bearing surface, and a stake for mounting the decoy having a flat endand a pointed end andhaving a circular, flat, bearing surface disposedintermediate the pointed and the flat end. These novel decoysautomatically adjust tochanges in the wind so that they always face intothe wind.

It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide aself-aligning duck or goose decoy.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide aself-aligning duck or goose decoy which presents the appearance of alive goose or duck from the air and which will automatically and,without any manual manipulation, align itself so as to face directlyinto the wind.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide aself-aligning decoy with a minimum of moving parts so that the same maybe quickly and easily carried and assembled in the field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 2 is a top view of the novel decoy ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 33 in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a view takenalong line 44 in FIG. 2 showing an alternative embodiment of the decoyof the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 and 2 show a side view and atop view respectively of the novel decoy of the present invention. Thedecoy comprises a body portion 1 which has a removable head portion 2,generally body portion 1 and head portion 2 may be made of any lightweight, durable material, such as fiber glass, solid styrene foams, andother similar materials. Head 2 may be made removable so that the decoymay be modified to provide a decoy having three separate head positions,i.e., alert, asleep, and feeding. Attached to the posterior portion ofbody portion 1 is a flat fin 3. Fin 3 may be integrally formed with bodyportion 1 so that the same has a one piece construction or may be aremovable insert. Fin 3 will be substantially perpendicular to theground when the decoy is set up and will act as a wind deflector tomaintain the decoy in the proper position. Fin 3 should be placed on therearward portion of the decoy body, preferably inset slightly from theend of the tail feathers or posterior portion and extendingsubstantially up the center line of the back or top portion of the decoybody 1. Generally, the shape of the fin 3 will be somewhat triangularwith the back edge 4 of fin 3 being generally perpendicular with respectto the ground, joined by a top edge 5 which may be either substantiallyhorizontal to the base of the decoy or extended on a slight anglesubstantially shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, fin 3 may be decorated in amanner similar to that of body portion 1 so that when viewed from theair, it does not substantially detract from the general overallappearance of the decoy and appears to generally resemble a ruffled wingfeather.

FIG. 3 which shows a view on line 3-3 in FIG. 2, shows the pivotstructure of the novel decoy of the present invention. Generally, bodyportion 1 is mounted on a stake 10 made of a suitable metal material,such as a steel alloy, and has a pointed end 11 so that stake 10 may beeasily driven or pushed into the ground. The end of stake l0 oppositefrom that of point 11 is generally flat and intermediate these ends is aflange 12 which is generally circular when viewed from above andprovides a flat, bearing surface. Upper portions 13 of stake 10, Le.that portion of stake 10 above flange l2, fits into a sleeve 14 which isembedded within the body 1 of the decoy. Sleeve 14 may be either a metalsleeve without any coating whatsoever or may be include a nylon orpolytetrafluoroethylene coating so as to reduce any possible frictionbetween the upper portion 13 of stake 10 and the sleeve 14, allowing thedecoy to freely rotate.

Sleeve 14 may be either a tubular member with both ends open or theupper end 15 may be closed. At the lower end 16 of sleeve 14 is a flat,bearing surface 17 slightly larger than flange member 12 on stake 10.When the upper portion 13 of stake is inserted into sleeve 14, flangemember 12 and surface 17 mate so as to form a sliding surface allowingthe duck body 1 to freely rotate in response to any wind which hits fin3.

FIG. 4 shows a view along line 44 in FIG. 2 and shows an alternativeconstruction for fin 3. In this embodiment, a fin member 33 fits withina thin, elongated slit 31 in the body of decoy 32. Fin 33 and slit 31will generally be approximately the same size in width and lengthdimensions so that fin 33 fits easily within slit 31; the dimensionsshould be sufficiently similar so that fin 33 will not be easilyinadvertantly removed. Preferably, slit 31 will be sufficiently deep sothat fin 33 will not be removed by the action of the wind blowingtransverse to the fin 33. The utilization of this particular embodimentpresents the advantage that these fin members may be removed prior totransporting the decoys, thereby avoiding the possibility of breakage ofthe fins, since the fin members are generally fairly thin although theyare sturdy.

in use, the decoys are set out in the fields in a manner similar toconventional decoys. Each stake 10 is placed into the ground and thedecoy with an appropriate head is placed thereon. As noted above and asshown in FIG. 3, the head 2 is removable, each head having a cylindricalplug 18 which fits into a cylindrical socket 19 in the upper portion ofthe body 1 of the decoy. Accordingly, the hunter can vary the number ofdecoys with heads being alert, sleeping or feeding depending upon thetime of the day. Once decoys are set out, the hunter may return to hisblind without the necessity of adjusting the same due to constantchanges in wind since decoy will align itself with the head facing intothe wind. Furthermore, any small cross winds which hit fin 3 will causethe decoys to wabble or move slightly, thereby creating the illusionfrom the air that the decoys are live and moving. The instant decoyswithout the utilization of any outside force present the illusion oflive, wild fowl which constantly shift their position with reference tothe prevailing wind.

Although the novel decoy of the present invention has been described byway of the foregoing specification and attached drawings, such" noveldecoy is to be in no way limited thereto, but to be construed as broadlyas any and all equivalents in the following appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-aligning wild fowl decoy comprising a body substantially inthe shape of a wild fowl including a head portion, a main body portion,a substantially flat base portion and a posterior portion; a thinsubstantially flat fin mounted on said body near said posterior portionalong the top center line of said main body portion said fin beinggenerally triangular and mounted generally perpendicular to the topsurface of said posterior portion with its posterior edge generallyperpendicular to said base portion; a tubular sleeve mounted within saidmain body portion near said head portion and perpendicular to said baseportion forming an opening in said base portion, said sleeve having alow coefficient of friction; a first fiat bearing surface attached tosaid sleeve and to said base portion; and a cylindrical mounting stakehaving a cross-section slightly less than the internal diameter of saidsleeve said stake and including a flat end and a pointed end and furtherincluding a second flat bearing surface attached to said stakeintermediate said pointed end and said flat end, said second flatbearing surface contracting said first bearing surface when said flatend is inserted into said sleeve.

2. The Decoy of claim 1 wherein said fin is integral with said body.

3. The Decoy of claim l'wherein said fin is removable.

1. A self-aligning wild fowl decoy comprising a body substantially inthe shape of a wild fowl including a head portion, a main body portion,a substantially flat base portion and a posterior portion; a thinsubstantially flat fin mounted on said body near said posterior portionalong the top center line of said main body portion said fin beinggenerally triangular and mounted generally perpendicular to the topsurface of said posterior portion with its posterior edge generallyperpendicular to said base portion; a tubular sleeve mounted within saidmain body portion near said head portion and perpendicular to said baseportion forming an opening in said base portion, said sleeve having alow coefficient of friction; a first flat bearing surface attached tosaid sleeve and to said base portion; and a cylindrical mounting stakehaving a cross-section slightly less than the internal diameter of saidsleeve said stake and including a flat end and a pointed end and furtherincluding a second flat bearing surface attached to said stakeintermediate said pointed end and said flat end, said second flatbearing surface contracting said first bearing surface when said flatend is inserted into said sleeve.
 2. The Decoy of claim 1 wherein saidfin is integral with said body.
 3. The Decoy of claim 1 wherein said finis removable.